Brockton police chief says crime crackdown leading to more chases

Police Chief Robert Hayden said while he doesn't want to see more chases, he wouldn't be surprised if more are down the road. Officers “are out there working hard and if they're working hard, four might be a low number,” Hayden said of the chases.

BROCKTON – Three Brockton police officers were sitting down at a pizza shop on North Quincy Street when the call came in about noon Monday.

“Officers in pursuit.”

They rushed out the door to join what would be the city’s fourth police chase in a week. Police Chief Robert Hayden said there will likely be more, as city and state police continue a crackdown on crime.

The car turned right onto Oak Street, then turned left onto Pearl Street and took the on-ramp onto Route 24 southbound. Officers pursued the vehicle onto the highway, but lost sight of the car near Bridgewater and the pursuit was called off, Brockton Police Lt. Sergio said.

Previous car chases ended much differently.

Brockton police were involved in two car chases, on Wednesday and another one last Tuesday. Two of those chases ended in crashes and five arrests were made. One of the chases began in Plymouth and traveled through several communities, including East Bridgewater and Bridgewater, before reaching Brockton.

Hayden said while he doesn’t want to see more chases, he wouldn’t be surprised if more are down the road.

Officers “are out there working hard and if they’re working hard, four might be a low number,” Hayden said of the chases. “They’re turning over every stone they can. They’re uncovering more criminals and initiating more investigations.”

Hayden, the first outsider brought in to lead the department in 34 years, said the department has stepped up crime enforcement since he took over. Their efforts are leading them to be in contact with more criminals who do not want to spend the night in a Brockton holding cell, Hayden said.

“If you’ve ever seen the Brockton cellblock, you and I would both be running. No one wants to be spending time in the city cellblock,” Hayden said. “People enjoy their freedom and they don’t want to get caught up in the court system or sit in a cell, and they’ll do anything they can to get away.”

Asked if there was any connection between the four chases, Hayden said, “They’re all bad people and they’re all being chased by the Brockton police.”

Police were able to get a partial license plate in the incident on Monday and are investigating.

Brockton police officer Robert Grayson injured his hand jumping over a fence in pursuit of the suspect. He was taken to Signature Healthcare Brockton Hospital to get stitches in his hand.

The toll of the chases is still being tallied up.

Three Brockton police cruisers were damaged and have been taken out of commission, two suspects’ vehicles were damaged, two officers were injured and hospitalized, two suspects were injured and hospitalized, another suspect was taken to the hospital for evaluation and three additional officers suffered minor injuries.

Page 2 of 2 - As of Monday the three cruisers were still not on the road and the officer injured in one of the chases last week was still not back at work.

Hayden, who participated in the chase on Tuesday, said during a chase supervisors take great care in finding out weather conditions, traffic conditions and other evaluations to determine whether a chase should be called off or not.

He said the unpredictability of some suspects may cause them to be a danger to others, which is why police give chase.

“It’s not a good thing. We don’t want chases but there’s really no way around it. It’s sort of a necessary evil,” Hayden said.